BusinessMirror August 28, 2015

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A broader look at today’s business Thursday 201428, Vol.2015 10 No. 40

Friday, 18, August Vol. 10 No. 323

Neda cuts growth target after subpar Q2 results

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By Cai U. Ordinario

he Philippines’s lackluster economic performance rooted on the government’s poor spending has made the country’s 2015 growth targets impossible to meet, according to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

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Neda Director General and Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan told reporters on Thursday that the economy can only achieve a full-year growth of only 6 percent to 6.5 percent for 2015, after yet another disappointing results in the second quarter.

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the pace of the country’s economic growth slowed to 5.6 percent in the Aprilto-June period, from 6.7 percent in the same quarter last year. With the growth of only 5 percent in the first quarter, the first-semester average was only 5.3 percent.

Continued on A2

SY IS STILL PHL’S RICHEST MAN

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roperty, retail and banking tycoon Henry Sy Sr., whose conglomerate owns the chain of SM Supermalls in the Philippines and China, has retained the title of the Philippines’s richest person for the eighth consecutive year, with his net worth up $1.7 billion from last year to $14.4 billion.

Forbes Philippines, which puts together the list, said on Thursday that the value of

Sy’s publicly traded conglomerates SM Investments rose 17 percent and SM Prime Holdings 20 percent over the past year. His companies announced record income from banking and retail businesses and two new mall partnerships in 2014. Sy also has a stake in privately owned power supplier National Grid Corp.

John L. Gokongwei Jr. of the JG Summit Continued on A8

Govt seized 250 tons of smuggled pork, beef in January-June–D.A. All-New Toyota HILUX

Refined and reinforced Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Jose C. Reaño answers questions from BusinessMirror reporters and editors during the business paper’s forum held in its offices in Makati City. NONIE REYES

By Mary Grace Padin

T MOTORING

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he government seized 250,000 kilograms, or 250 metric tons, of smuggled beef and pork in January to June this year, a senior official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Thursday.

In a forum, dubbed as The Round table, Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Jose C. Reaño told editors and reporters of media companies under the ALC Group that

PESO exchange rates n US 46.6560

the government’s antismuggling drive netted 10 containers of smuggled pork and beef.

“Smuggling of meat products has gone down in recent months,” said Reaño, who is in charge of the DA’s national livestock program.

He said the seized contraband was valued at less than P500 million, and would not significantly affect hog raisers and poultry growers.

Reaño added that there will be “no letup” in the DA’s implementation of antismuggling Continued on A8

n japan 0.3891 n UK 72.1535 n HK 6.0191 n CHINA 7.2781 n singapore 33.1953 n australia 33.1529 n EU 52.8239 n SAUDI arabia 12.4396 Source: BSP (28 August 2015)

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News

BusinessMirror

Friday, August 28, 2015

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Neda cuts growth target after subpar Q2 results Continued from A1

“Realistically, even the low-end [target] now is very much challenged. The DBCC [Development Budget Coordination Committee] technical working group is working on the numbers and we will meet soon to decide on the targets for the rest of the year. But it’s very likely that we will scale down the targets,” Balisacan said.

“We’re not projecting right now but what I’m trying to say is that the realistic scenario could be 6 percent to 6.5 (percent),” he added.

Balisacan said for the economy to grow 6 percent for the full year, the economy needs to register an average growth of 6.6 percent in the July-to-December period.

To reach 6.5 percent, the economy needs to post a growth of 7.7 percent in the second half of the year.

However, economists believe that hitting 6 percent this year may already be the highest growth that the country can register given its recent performance.

Former Philippine Economic Society President Alvin Ang said hitting a growth of 6 percent would still depend on how much election spending can affect overall consumption in the country.

Ang estimates that election spending increases overall consumption growth by 0.5 percentage point. This includes the impact on both household and government consumption.

Balisacan, on the other hand, estimates that election spending can increase gross domestic product (GDP) growth by 0.3 percentage point to 0.7 percentage point. “[Full-year growth could be] toward the high side depending on election spending. [It] has a kind of multiplier effect on consumption growth,” Ang said.

Despite the slowdown in the country’s growth in the second quarter, Balisacan noted that government spending

increased in the second quarter.

“The government stepped up spending and private consumption also remains fairly strong,” Gundy Cahyadi, Singapore-based economist at DBS Group Holdings Ltd., said before the report. “There’s going to be some negative growth impact from financial-market volatility, but fundamentals are way more important at this point.”

The peso gained 0.1 percent to 46.665 against the US dollar at 10:50 a.m. local time. While the rout in emerging-market stocks and currencies has dragged the peso to a five-year low, it has still weakened less than other Southeast Asian currencies, losing about 4 percent this year.

Government spending climbed 3.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, and consumer spending gained 6.2 percent. That helped counter weakening exports, which fell every month in the second quarter.

“The second-quarter GDP growth shows the expanse of the country’s resiliency from the prevailing weakness of the global economy,” Balisacan told a briefing. The significant improvement in government spending “gives us more confidence about the performance of the public sector in the coming quarters of the year.”

President Aquino, whose term ends in June 2016, had targeted growth of 7 percent to 8 percent this year and next.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) kept the benchmark rate unchanged this month, and Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said this week that, while private consumption will continue to be well supported, it is necessary to find other drivers of growth.

Public construction also bounced back from a 24-percent contraction in the first quarter to a 20-percent growth. In the

second quarter last year, public construction only posted a growth of 5.7 percent.

“This is a result of government’s efforts to address issues on spending bottlenecks, especially for public infrastructure, which held back growth in the first quarter. This significant improvement gives us more confidence about the performance of the public sector in the coming quarters of the year,” Balisacan said.

Apart from better government spending in the coming months, Balisacan said the country may also benefit from the depreciation of the peso.

Balisacan explained that the depreciation of the peso will be beneficial to exporters since they will earn more for the products they sell abroad.

He said as long as the depreciation of the peso will not be sharp and will not be volatile, this will be beneficial to workers since it will protect them from losing their jobs in the manufacturing sector.

Balisacan also said that in terms of debt, the country’s borrowings are largely domestic, so the depreciation of the peso will not have a significant impact on the country’s payment of its debts.

“We acknowledge fears about the peso’s depreciation. However, as long as the depreciation is not sharp, the overall net effect of this development is still positive for the economy, especially for our workers,” Balisacan said.

“Overall, the growth in the second quarter shows that we are still on the right track in achieving our country’s development goals, especially within our objectives outlined in the Philippine Development Plan 2011-2016. But every achievement in the process of attaining a high and inclusive growth brings about new challenges,” he stressed.

Tetangco also admitted that the outturn for the entire 2015 growth will now

apec media partner Apec CEO Summit COO Guillermo M. Luz (seated) discusses with BusinessMirror Editor in Chief Jun Vallecera (center) and Publisher T. Anthony Cabangon details to a partnership agreement with the BusinessMirror for the Apec CEO Summit 2015 event happening on November 16 and 17 this year. The memorandum of agreement signing was held at the New World Hotel in Makati City. ALYSA SALEN be lower than the government’s full year target of the 7 percent to 8 percent.

“The higher second-quarter GDP number [relative to first quarter] was supported by solid domestic aggregate demand, particularly consumption and capital formation. Net exports detracted from growth.

The Neda points to El Niño and external fragilities as potential risks to growth going forward,”Tetangco said. “With the secondquarter number and given the current operating environment, we can expect eco performance that is still strong, albeit more modest than the government’s full year target,” he added.

The central bank governor also reiterated that with this outturn, there “may be no need for any immediate recalibration of monetary-policy settings.”

He vowed, nevertheless, that the BSP will continue to coordinate with other government agencies on the assessment of trends in El Niño and their potential impact on output and the prices of vital goods and services.

“We will also remain watchful of global developments to see how these would affect domestic growth and inflation dynamics,” Tetangco said.

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima,

meanwhile, attributed much of the rebound to the improvement on the disbursements in the country.

“Following the President’s action on underspending, year-on-year growth in government expenditures for June breached 17 percent, pushing total expenditures above the trillion-peso mark by the first half of 2015,” Purisima said in a statement.

“We expect public spending to play a bigger role in second-semester performance as we have ample fiscal space in the P2.6-trillion 2015 budget to fund growthinducing investments,” he added.

With Bianca Cuaresma, Bloomberg News

news@businessmirror.com.ph

The Nation BusinessMirror

Editor: Dionisio L. Pelayo • Friday, August 28, 2015 A3

Lawmakers to Canada: Palace favors Recto bill raising Get your garbage back ‘balikbayan’ box tax-free ceiling M

EMBERS of the House Committee on Ecology asked the Canadian government to ship back to its territory the 50 container vans of mixed waste.

In a letter sent to a member of Canada’s House of Commons, Rep. Amado S. Bagatsing of Manila said the North American territory has no right to dispose of its waste in the Philippine jurisdiction.

Bagatsing, chairman of the House Committee on Ecology, cited the Basel Convention on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous waste and their disposal as basis for the committee’s missive.

Under the convention, the aforementioned act is deemed as an illegal traffic, based on Paragraph 1.c of Article 9 of the said convention, according to the letter.

“Furthermore, it must be noted that Paragraph 2 of the convention states that the State of export shall ensure that the illegal traffic are either: (a) taken back by the exporter or the generator or, if necessary, by itself into the State of export; or, if impracticable, (b) disposed of in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, within 30 days from the time the State of export has been informed about the illegal traffic or such other period of time as States concerned may agree,” the letter said.

“It is unfortunate to note that, in this regard, the Office of the Ambassador of Canada to the Philippines released a statement stating that there is no current domestic law, which your government could apply to compel the shipper to return its containers to Canada,” it added.

Bagatsing, however, expressed hope and confidence the issue “could be resolved through the diplomatic channels?”

The lawmaker added that members of his panel are also united against disposing of the waste in any area within the Philippine jurisdiction.

“In this connection, we would like to express our united position that the 50 container vans of waste, including those waste exported thereafter, be shipped back by the government of Canada itself, since it cannot compel the shipper to return its containers to Canada pursuant to the Basel Convention,” it added.

Bagatsing also told his Canadian counterpart that his committee recently deliberated on House Resolution 1525, which seeks to inquire into the unlawful importation of mixed waste from Canada.

According to documents from his office, the container vans filled with waste, mostly with used plastic bags, bottles, newspapers, household garbage and used adult diapers, were shipped from Canada by Chronic Inc., a private company in Ontario, from June to September 2013.

The shipment was seized by the Bureau of Customs, which declared the contents thereof as heterogeneous waste, thus, an unlawful importation pursuant to Republic Act 6969, titled “Toxic Substances and Hazardous and Nuclear Wastes Control Act of 1990,” the lawmaker told the Canadian government.

Criminal cases were already lodged against Chronic Plastics, according to Bagatsing. Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

Gazmin seeks US help in Ayungin

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ATIONAL Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin asked the United States for assistance in the resupply of Filipino soldiers guarding Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea. Gazmin posed the request during a meeting on Wednesday with visiting US Pacific Command commander, Adml. Harry Harris.

Gazmin told reporters that he discussed with Harris the possibility of the US military helping the Philippines in its maritime security concerns and ensure freedom of navigation and overflight in the West Philippine Sea. However, he refused to go into details, especially on Harris’s response.

But Defense Spokesman Peter Paul Galvez said the US had flown a maritime patrol plane in one of the previous resupply that was carried out by the Philippine military.

Galvez also refused to give details.

Soldiers are guarding the Ayungin Shoal aboard the partly sunken vessel BRP Siera Madre, while Chinese military and paramilitary ships, which used to harass past

resupplies, are anchored nearby.

On Thursday Harris went to Palawan and met with Armed Forces Western Command (Wescom) commander, Vice Adml.

Alexander Lopez.

Armed Forces Spokesman Col. Resituto Padilla said the Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff dubbed Harris’s trip to the Wescom “as a sort of area familiarization for the new commander of the pacific command.”

“Harris wanted to be appraised of the situation on the ground and follow on a previous meeting with Adml. Alex Lopez, commander of Wescom whom he met earlier in Singapore during the Shangri-La Dialogue,” Padilla said.

He added that Lopez gave Harris a “thorough organizational and situational briefing on his command and its area of operation.”

Padilla refused to reveal other details of the meeting, but he quoted Lopez as saying that “it was a meeting of minds” aimed at having a common appreciation of the situation on the ground. Rene Acosta

Army to reissue rifles after defects are fixed

By Rene Acosta

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HE Army will “reissue” the Remington-made M-4 rifles only after their defects are fixed and pass new evaluations, according to the Army public affairs office (PAO).

Army PAO Chief Col. Benjamin Hao said the rifles would be issued to the troops after the “required inspections and tests are finished.”

Hao said the Army has procured a total of 56,843 M-4 rifles as part of its capability upgrade program. Out of the total procurement, 44,186 pieces have already been delivered.

He said that out of the 44,186, at least 24,300 are already “ready for issuance” and 19,866 still have to undergo ballistic test for record purposes.

A ballistic test by the Philippine National Police Crime Laboratory uses the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (Ibis).

The Ibis is a computer-based system that can capture, store, rapidly compare and retrieve digital images of cartridge casings (shells) and bullets to link or trace these to the guns from which these were fired.

Earlier, more than 20,000 M-4 assault rifles delivered to the Army and were sub-

sequently issued to soldiers were defective, prompting the leadership to order for their recall.

The weapons, part of the 27,000 ordered by the military from US manufacturer Remington, was delivered last year during the term of former Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. Armed Forces PAO Chief Lt. Col. Noel Detoyato said the defects, wherein the firearms’ sights were moving, were found out by members of the military’s tactical inspection and acceptance committee.

“When they delivered, we have technical inspection and acceptance committee and when they tested, they found out defects on the sights,” Detoyato said.

“The sights were moving. The defects were on the side of the supplier and so the supplier has to shoulder and correct the discrepancy before it will be accepted,” he added.

In August last year, the military handed over 27,300 units of 5.56mm M-4 rifles to the Army and to the Marines in a ceremonial distribution at Camp Aguinaldo that was attended by President Aquino.

The rifles were delivered in two batches on July 5, 2014 with 100 pieces and on July 31, with 27,200 units.

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ALACAÑANG welcomed Sen. Ralph G. Recto’s proposal to raise balikbayan boxes tax-free cap to $2,000, from $500 per box set 25 years ago.

However, the Palace made no commitment that President Aquino would certify the bill’s approval by Congress as urgent.

Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said in a news briefing on Wednesday that the Executive branch would review the balikbayan box tax-ceiling proposal, but they would need to study it first.

It’s high time that our lawmakers studied the changes needed to address the issue, Coloma said in Filipino.

“We will review the proposals and see what is the most logical position the government can uphold, but only after we have read and understood in full the proposed bill of Sen. Recto,” he added.

However, Coloma indicated that they see no urgency in approving the proposed balikbayan box law ahead of at least five other “priority bills” that Mr. Aquino asked lawmakers to pass during his recent State of the Nation Address in July.

Coloma said the Palace, nonetheless,

needs to immediately decide on the proposed bill, and its inclusion among other bills certified as urgent. The priority bills are the General Appropriations Act for 2016; the Bangsamoro basic law; the AntiDynasty Law; the Uniformed Personnel Pension Reform; and the Fiscal Incentives Rationalization bill, according to him.

In addition, Coloma said, the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) had also listed 26 other pending measures that the PLLO classified as “priority legislative bills.”

At the same time, the Palace is unfazed by the impending “No Remittance Day” declared by overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). The declaration came after the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said it is imposing additional clearing fees of P100,000 to P200,000 for container vans carrying balikbayan boxes sent by OFWs. Migrant workers said they believe the fees would be passed on to them.

Signaling that the Palace saw no cause for concern, Coloma recalled previous “no remittance” protest actions by OFWs. The experience was in 2013, at the height of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, or pork barrel, he explained in Filipino. He added that there were no reported negative effects during that time.

“That’s the basis; that’s why the call not to remit to their families here is no cause for concern,” he added.

The secretary pointed out that a refusal to remit or delay the remittance of OFW earnings to their relatives is a personal decision of the worker concerned.

Coloma surmised that there would be delays in remittances, but OFWs may not be thinking not to send money eventually.

OFWs belonging to the group Migrante and based in the Middle East announced a “Zero Remittance Day” on August 28 in protest of the BOC to randomly open balikbayan boxes sent by OFWs. The group said it would continue the protest action, despite the Palace decision to stop the BoC from implementing the plan.

According to Migrante’s John Leonard Monterona, about 1.2 million OFWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and 400,000 in the United Arab Emirates would participate in the protest action. Butch Fernandez

Economy

A4 Friday, August 28, 2015 • Editors: Vittorio V. Vitug and Max V. de Leon

BusinessMirror

PHL agenda to take center stage in Apec CEO Summit

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By Lorenz S. Marasigan & Catherine N. Pillas

SSUES pertaining to inclusive growth, promotion of human capital and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will be discussed in this year’s AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) CEO Summit.

During the signing of a partnership agreement with the BusinessMirror on late Wednesday, Apec Summit COO Guillermo Luz said playing host to this year’s meeting allowed the Philippines to push for the discussion of key issues.

“It allows us to project what the Philippines is trying to promote: inclusive growth and inclusive business, which means that we are trying to give different businesses to think about what we need to do to push for more dynamic growth moving forward,” he said.

Dynamic growth, he added, has to be inclusive.

“We want to keep this growth engine going in Apec; and for the Philippines, we need to be pushing along this theme,” Luz said.

Hence, the host nation pushed for the discussion of topics on in-

clusive growth, promotion of SME, the issue on human capital and the need for resiliency.

“The Philippines is in the right place pushing this topic up in the world stage—financial inclusion, micro insurance for disasters—these topics are being pushed in a big way during the Philippine year,” Luz said.

He added: “We’re not just the host, but as chairman, we have the responsibilities to forward and direct an agenda, and help lead the discussion of 21 economies.”

The Philippines last hosted the Apec meeting in 1996.

The Apec CEO Summit is the region’s premier business event and provides unparalleled opportunities for business executives to discuss key issues in the Asia Pacific.

It also allows businessmen to discover business opportunities and

forge connections with thought leaders from around the region and the world. This year’s summit will be held from November 16 to 18 in Manila. The BusinessMirror is the official media partner.

With the theme of “Creating the Future: Better, Stronger, Together,” this year’s summit will bring together Apec leaders from the world’s most dynamic economies, speakers from the world’s top companies and over 700 CEOs from across the AsiaPacific region.

The Philippines’s hosting of the Apec is also serving as a significant avenue for the country to strengthen relations with nontraditional trading partners.

“These [Apec meetings] are opportunities to advance an agenda and create partnerships. One of the things I see is that this creates an opportunity to make our presence known with the Pacific Alliance.

These four Latin American countries make a fairly formidable economic bloc which is interested in going to East Asia and Europe. That’s something to look at, not just our traditional Asean partners. We can take a look at them as a source of trade and investment,” said Luz, also the Private Sector cochairman of the National Competitiveness Council and member of the Apec Business Advisory Council.

The Pacific Alliance is composed

of Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico.

Three members of this Latin American trade bloc—Chile, Peru, Mexico-are members of the Apec.

Earlier in the year, the Department of Trade and Industry, during the Ministers Responsible for Trade (MRT) meetings held in May, already engaged in bilateral talks with the three Apec economies, with the goal of starting free trade agreements (FTAs) with them.

While the trade department has yet to name specific areas of interest in the framework of the FTAs with the countries, Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. expressed strong interest in pursuing the bilateral agreements, as trade and investment levels are currently negligible.

The three South American countries are also members of the United States-led Trans-Pacific Partnership, a broader trade pact which the Philippines has expressed interest in joining as a new member.

The Third Senior Officials’ Meeting is now ongoing in Cebu, while the culminating meetings of Apec, including the Economic Leaders’ meeting, are set to take place in Metro Manila in November.

The BusinessMirror recently inked a memorandum of agreement as a media partner for the Apec CEO Summit to be held from November 16 to 18 in Manila.

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Healthcare Information new growth driver of IT-BPM

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he Healthcare Information Management sector, a key contributor to the growth of the information-technology and business process management (IT-BPM) industry, is seeking at least a 3-percent share in the global market, or a conservative revenue target of $5.9 billion by 2020.

The industry also presented an “aggressive” but equally achievable revenue target of $9.8 billion at the most, or 5 percent of the global market by the same year.

This, the industry said, can be attained if the government and the industry can come up with a strategic push—in the form of a road map—to address major industry gaps.

According to the Healthcare Information and Management Association of the Philippines (Himap), this would mean a bigger contribution to the total IT-BPM industry’s revenues.

The Healthcare Information Management’s share to total ITBPM revenue in 2014 was 7.2 percent, or $ 1.3 billion of the $ 18-billion haul of the entire IT-BPM industry last year.

Consultancy firm Tholons predicts the Philippine IT-BPM industry to be worth $48 billion by 2020, which means that the targeted $5.9-billion revenue of Himap by 2020 would translate to a 12-percent share.

Moreover, by 2020, Himap predicts its employment share to total IT-BPM work force to improve from 87,000 workers to

DOE notes big rise in PHL demand for oil products

House bill regulating LPG industry OK’d

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By Lenie Lectura

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eclining world prices pulled down the Philippines’s oil import bill in the January-to-June period to $4.25 billion from $6.63 billion in the same period a year ago despite the rise in the volume of imported petroleum products.

“The country’s first half of 2015 net oil import bill, amounting to $4,254.7 million was down by 35.9 percent from first half of 2014’s $6,637.3 million due to cheaper price per barrel of crude and petroleum products (about 50 percent) vis-à-vis last year,” latest data provided by the Department of Energy (DOE) stated.

Net import is the difference between the country’s net imports and exports.

Cost of imported crude oil went down to $60.27 per barrel during the six-month period this year, from $11.28 per barrel in the same period a year earlier.

The total crude oil imported for the first half of 2015 reached 38.25 million barrels (MB), up by 21.7 percent from 2014’s 30.27 MB. As such, total import of crude oil amounted to $2.30 billion f rom $3.37 bi l lion, dow n by 31.6 percent.

On the other hand, the country’s petroleum-export earnings for the period fell by 32.9 percent to $415.6 million from $619.1 million.

The DOE report further stated that total demand of finished petroleum products for the first half grew by 13.8 percent in the same period last year.

The growth in demand, it added, was attributed to the increased requirements of direct importers/ end users, particularly for naphtha and condensate products.

Compared with first half of 2014 figures, gasoline demand posted an increase of 13.7 percent, while dieseloil demand rose by 9.6 percent.

at least 300,000.

The $5.9-billion revenue target is hinged on an assumed year-onyear growth rate of 25 percent from 2014 to 2020.

Himap leaders pointed out that the conservative $5.9-billion target relies on two significant factors: addressing the gap in talent and sustaining a “healthy business environment.”

“In talent development, we’re trying to identify the areas of focus in terms of the services we’re going to offer in the market. We’re trying to build the capability of Filipinos in the IT expertise,” said Judy Whisenhunt, industry treasurer, adding that the K to 12 Program of the Department of Education will play a role in this.

On maintaining a competitive business environment, the industry stressed the need to retain government incentives for the IT-BPM projects.

“The incentives that we have today, we just want them to remain. Shutting off these incentives would be disastrous for us,” said Jeff Williams, chairman of the Board of Himap.

Under the 2014-2016 Investment Priorities Plan, healthcare information management systems are eligible for fiscal perks.

Other drivers that will aid the sub-sector in reaching the revenue goal, Williams said, is diversifying the Philippine markets outside of the traditional ones such as the US. The neighboring Asean countries, he said, would be a good start.

Catherine N. Pillas

MANILA REMEMBERS RIZAL PARK INCIDENT Former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada (right) joins the ritual by Chinese Buddhist monks in the commemoration of the botched bus hostage-taking operation at Manila’s Rizal Park that killed eight Hong Kong tourists five years ago on Thursday. A tourist bus with 21 tourists was commandeered by a suspended police officer Senior Inspector Rolando Mendoza on August 23, 2010, in a 15-hour standoff and rescue operation by the police resulted in the killing of eight Hong Kong tourists and the hostage-taker. AP

Parañaque subdivisions set to open gates to public traffic

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ue to the unsolved monstrous traffic in Parañaque City, Mayor Edwin Olivarez has ordered the full implementation of the opening of the interconnection of roads inside private subdivisions to serve as a “friendship route.”

Olivarez also directed the city treasurer’s office to set aside P30 million for the project, as the local government will assume the maintenance of private roads that will be part of the friendship route, which will allow private motorists access to subdivision roads.

“The opening of the friendship route in the city’s private villages, before this year’s Christmas season, will be our immediate solution to the worsening traf-

fic problem. It will also benefit thousands of commuters and motorists not just from Parañaque, but, likewise, the nearby cities of Pasay, Taguig, Las Piñas and Muntinlupa,” he explained.

Late last year, the city government conducted a traffic summit and a series of consultations with stakeholders to find solutions to the horrible traffic, particularly along the stretch of Sucat Road and the roads surrounding the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Likewise, Olivarez issued an order creating a committee that will determine which subdivision roads will be opened to the public as part of the friendship-route scheme, as well as to formulate the

rules and regulations concerning its implementation.

The creation of the committee is also in response to the approved city law years back called “An Ordinance Opening Roads in Subdivisions with Linkages to Major Thoroughfares of the City to the Public, When Deemed Necessary.”

However, due to financial constraint, the implementation of the project was deferred.

Subdivision homeowners’ associations asserted that the city government should allocate funds for the road repairs and install street lights in the select private subdivisions.

According to the mayor, now that they have paid the P2-billion bank

loan of the previous administration, they are now considering the possibility of providing nonfiscal incentives to homeowners’ associations that will allow the use of their subdivision roads.

He said directional signs and road paints will be put up in the friendship routes so motorists will not get lost, including the setting up of bay areas. “As part of our beautification program, plants and trees will be planted in the said private subdivisions.”

He said the friendship route’s accessibility will help ease the traffic along Sucat, BF, Don Galo, Baclaran and Coastal Roads, especially during rush hour when most of the city residents usually come home.

measure establishing a regulatory framework for the safe operation of players in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) industry has been approved recently at the House of Representatives.

House Bill 5617, or the LPG Industry Regulation and Safety Act, principally authored by Nationalist People’s Coalition Rep. Susan Yap of Tarlac and Party-list Rep. Arnel U. Ty of LPGMA, sets standards of conduct and codes of practice for the LPG industry.

Under the measure, a regulatory framework for the importation, refining, refilling, transportation, distribution and marketing of LPG, and the manufacture, requalification, exchange and swapping or improvement of LPG cylinders shall be established.

The bill said that not later than six months from the effectivity of this act, an LPG Monitoring and Enforcement Task Force shall be created composed of the Secretary of the Department of Energy (DOE) as chairman, Secretaries of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as members and—as determined by the chairman—representatives from other government agencies, LPG industry participants and private-sector entities.

The task force will assist the DOE in monitoring compliance to the standards, and in the exercise of other powers and functions necessary to give force and effect to the proposed Act. The measure also mandates the DOE to deputize the DTI in the processing of the License to Operate for dealers and retailers, subject to the standards set in the proposed Act. The bill said that engaging in business without license to operate, engaging in business without accreditation, refusal or obstruction of inspection, failure to post license to operate, failure to submit reportorial requirements, illegal storage, failure to comply with product standards, adulteration, under-filling, illegal refilling, hoarding and unauthorized trading of LPG cylinders are prohibited and will be fined with a maximum of P500,000 for an individual and P1,000,000 for a corporation.

Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

news@businessmirror.com.ph

Economy BusinessMirror

Friday, August 28, 2015 A5

DBM vows to fast-track disbursements in H2

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he Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Thursday that it will continue to ramp up efforts to ensure faster disbursements of funds for government infrastructure projects in the second half of the year.

Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad issued the pronouncement after the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.6 percent in the second quarter of the year.

“Robust government spending was a driving force in our GDP growth in the second quarter. As departments and agencies catch up on their spending programs,

we find ourselves well-placed to support deeper and broader development in the country,” Abad said in a statement.

“Our challenge now is to exceed ourselves in the coming quarters. More than ever, it will be crucial for us to ramp up disbursements and clear more spending bottlenecks, so we can stimulate the economy toward further growth,” he added.

Abad noted the 20-percent growth in

‘WESM price cap may be extended’

By Lenie Lectura

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HE Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) tripartite committee will likely extend the P32per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) price cap to continue shielding consumers from any sudden price spike.

Philippine Electricity Market Corp.

(PEMC) President Melinda L. Ocampo said during the Ninth WESM annual meeting held on Thursday that some industry stakeholders want to extend the price cap.

“There were consultations held in Luzon and the Visayas, and some want it to be extended. We will still take this up in our next meeting,” Ocampo said, adding that the price cap “can be extended.”

The PEMC, which operates the WESM, is a member of the committee. The other members are the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).

The P32-per-kWh price cap was reduced from the original P62 per kWh in December 2013, following the recordhigh prices posted by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco).

The implementation of the price cap has been extended since “pending the determination of a new WESM offer price cap.”

“Following the isolated incidents of November to December 2013, the WESM tripartite committee implemented an offer price cap of P32 per kWh starting January 2014, in an effort to temper the significantly high prices in the electricity spot market,”

the PEMC said in a statement.

“Since the primary price cap could not fully capture incidents of sustained clearing of high spot prices, a secondary price-cap mechanism was put in place by the ERC as a preemptive measure to help limit recurring occasions of high prices in the WESM,” PEMC said.

A secondary price cap of P6.245 per kWh is triggered once the P9-per-kWh threshold is breached.

“The PEMC is resolved to fully realize the objectives of the Epira [Electric Power Industry Reform Act] in promoting transparency in electricity pricing and provide a level playing field to all electric power industry participants.

With the robust enforcement and compliance framework present in the spot market, we assure everyone that competition thrives in the market where all players are encouraged to abide with the WESM rules,” Ocampo said.

Low market prices were observed from mid-September to December 2014, because of the decrease in demand brought about by colder temperatures. Likewise, low prices were also observed from March 2015 to mid-May 2015, because of increase in supply when generating plants on scheduled maintenance outage went back online, offsetting the unavailability of Malampaya natural-gas facility.

“The PEMC is relentless in its efforts to ensure that the WESM will work for every Filipino in achieving a reliable and affordable supply of electric power,” Ocampo said.

Lawmaker urges govt to prepare for influx of ‘balikbayan’ boxes

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By Recto Mercene

emember the port congestion last year that delayed the delivery of hundreds of balikbayan boxes from abroad because the local government of Manila banned trucks from entering the city?

To avoid a repeat of this, Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV on Thursday warned the government and private stakeholders of the “ber” months that would soon be upon us, signaling the arrival of boatloads of balikbayan boxes.

Aquino warned them not to repeat the congestions experienced at the Port of Manila.

“Now that we have learned our lesson from last year, we must not let our guard down. This early, we must ensure that congestion will not hamper port operation during the coming ber months,” said Aquino, who is chairman of the Senate Committee on Trade, Commerce and Entrepreneurship.

Usually, Aquino said heavy volume of containers arrive from September to December, in time for the Christmas season.

“As of now, operations remain normal but the port congestion might be repeated due to the flood of cargoes during the latter part of the year,” he said.

Early this year, Aquino said he

has initiated a probe on the congestion that occurred at the Port of Manila. After bringing government agencies and private stakeholders in one table, the problem has been ironed out after several months of investigation.

During the last hearing, stakeholders reported that the utilization rate at the Port of Manila is now between 70 percent and 80 percent. In addition, waiting time for trucks has improved while cargo ships can now load or unload cargoes in just mere hours, instead of days at the height of the congestion year.

Meanwhile, Aquino said the passage of the Foreign Ships Co-Loading Act, or Republic Act 10688, will help decongest the country’s major ports.

The law allows foreign ships carrying imported cargoes and cargoes to be exported out of the country to dock in multiple ports.

“This will save time, costs and energy for our exporters and importers in sending their raw materials, and goods and products in and out of the country,” he said.

“By allowing foreign ships to go directly to other domestic ports around the country, it will lower production costs for our entrepreneurs, free up space in the Port of Manila, improve the import and export system of the country,” Aquino added.

public infrastructure in the second quarter versus the 24-percent contraction in public construction in the previous quarter.

“These are clear and compelling signs that government spending is back on track,” he said.

Citing PSA data, Abad also noted that the government’s final consumption expenditure grew 3.9 percent this quarter, faster than last quarter’s 1.7-percent growth.

“Since the beginning of 2015, the DBM has

implemented reforms and policies to strengthen the link between planning, budgeting, procurement, project implementation, and project monitoring and evaluation,” he said.

Since 2014, Abad said the General Appropriations Act-as-Release-Document regime has made the majority of agency allotments available for spending at the start of the year, allowing agencies to focus on execution instead of on securing Special Allotment Release Or-

ders. Also, Administrative Order 46, issued in March, directed agencies to implement various measures to improve spending capacity and project reporting.

In June the DBM also released guidelines for the creation of “Full-time Delivery Units” in each agency, which are tasked to review project performance and act as “problem solvers” in the face of sluggish program implementation.

Estrella Torres

A6 Friday, August 28, 2015

Opinion BusinessMirror

editorial

The second-quarter economic growth

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he Philippines’s gross domestic product grew by 5.6 percent in the second quarter from the same period in 2014.

This was better than the revised 5-percent growth in the first quarter of 2015.

While this was below the consensus expectations of about 5.7 percent to 5.8 percent, with the potential headwinds facing the economy in the second quarter, it was a good result.

Agricultural production in the second quarter actually contracted from last year’s by 0.5 percent. While this does not seem noticeable in the major urban areas, it had a substantial effect in many regions where a few pesos less for the farmworkers limit consumer spending.

There were two other negatives that could have severely limited economic growth. The yearon-year increase in retail spending growth was lower than in 2014. Industrial production has contracted at 7.3 percent for two consecutive quarters and may be showing signs of bottoming out. Further, net hiring in Metro Manila was flat in the second quarter.

While the specific internals of the economic growth has not yet been released, comments from Economic Planning Secretary and Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority Arsenio M. Balisacan reveal the general economic drivers.

Of course, comments must always begin with kudos to the government and the administration, and this time was not an exception. Secretary Balisacan said: “Government spending accelerated in the second quarter, where [the] government’s final consumption expenditure rose by 3.9 percent from 1.7 percent in the last quarter [first quarter 2015]. Public construction bounced from a 24.0-percent contraction in the first quarter to a 20-percent growth.”

There is no particular reason to dispute this assessment, but the data given to the public may be “allocated spending” rather than actual “cash-in-the-economy” disbursements. We will reserve judgment as we wait for that data.

However, once again, it is the Philippine private sector that is doing all the heavy economic lifting.

Capital formation—buying equipment, buildings and other intermediate goods—grew by 17.4 percent in the quarter, compared to an 8.6-percent growth in the previous year. Private construction also maintained a double-digit growth rate.

The key to these numbers is that the private sector just keeps on doing its job regardless of the externals and the deficiencies of the government. For example, the Manila port congestion may have “ended” in the first quarter, but something like that would have longerreaching effects. But Filipino businesses have learned how to successfully cope and handle almost anything that is thrown at them. Political foolishness, natural disasters, and global shocks are all in a day’s work for the Filipino businessman and businesswoman. Certainly, overseas remittances and outsourcing are critical to the economy and continue to perform well. However, credit must be given to the private sector as it does what it can to maximize the nation’s external cash flow.

Perhaps the mascot for Filipino business should be a battle-scarred carabao that just keeps moving forward regardless of the obstacles it has to hurdle.

#Tanong James Jimenez

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spox

here are only 64 days left in the voter registration and validation period, preparatory to the 2016 national, local, and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao elections. In view of the looming deadline, here are some of the most frequently asked questions (FAQs)—and the answers to them—on the subject: Where can I register? You can register at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) office in the city or municipality where you reside and intend to vote.

As an alternative, you can register at a satellite registration that serves your specific district, within the city or municipality where you live.

What are the requirements for voter registration? You need a valid ID with your picture and your current address. Your ID doesn’t have to be a government-issued ID. You can use a driver’s license, a company ID, or a school ID that is valid for the current school year. If you don’t have a valid ID, a registered voter from the same barangay can vouch for your identity.

I’ve changed my name­. What should I do? You need to file an application for change of name, and present a valid ID showing your new name and current address. You also need to show proof of your legal name change. For

example, a marriage certificate.

I’ve changed addresses. Should I register as a new voter? No, you shouldn’t. Any registered voter who has transferred residence to another city or municipality (or to another barangay within the same city or municipality), at least six months before the next election may simply file an application for a transfer of registration.

To do that, visit the Comelec office in the city or municipality where you live, present an ID that reflects your new address and fill out the appropriate application form.

T he Comelec got my name wrong! What should I do? If your registration record contains erroneous entries, including wrong or misspelled name, birth date, birth place or typographical errors, you can file an application for correction of entries at the Comelec office in your city or municipality. All you have to

do is present evidence that justifies the correction. For example, if your name is misspelled, you can present a birth certificate to prove the correct spelling of your name.

What does being deactivated mean? Being “deactivated” means your registration record has been temporarily suspended and you cannot vote until the record is reactivated. This happens when you’ve missed two consecutive national elections.

For example: You didn’t vote in the 2013 national and local elections and in the 2013 barangay elections, you’re deactivated for 2016, because you missed two consecutive national elections.

On the other hand, if you voted in the 2010 barangay elections, did not vote in the 2013 national elections, but voted again in the 2013 barangay elections, you’re NOT deactivated because you didn’t miss two consecutive national election.

In order to reactivate, simply visit the Comelec office in your city or municipality and fill out the application for reactivation form.

I’m a regular voter with no biometrics. Can I be delisted? Republic Act 10367 states that those voters who fail to submit for validation by the end of the current registration period will be deactivated. Although this is not the same as removal from the list of voters, this will still mean that in relation to the next elections, the voter with a deactivated registration record will not be allowed to vote.

Wait. What are biometrics?

Biometrics are a way of verifying your identity using your picture, your signature and your fingerprints.

Needless to say, this list isn’t exhaustive. And that’s where the Comelec’s newly opened, multichannel, hot lines come into the picture. You can ask questions via landline at the following telephone numbers: (02)527- 5574; (02)525 - 929 6; (02)525-0821. You can send your queries in via SMS or text message, at 09185668301 and 0917-3708158. And if you’re a digital native—or just really attached to the Internet—you can use tweet @COMELEC or leave a comment on the Comelec’s official Facebook page.

Space permitting, it would be helpful if query tweets could be hash tagged #Tanong.

You can also send an e-mail to comelectv@gmail.com, or post a comment on the Comelec Education and Information Department’s web site, http://www. electionsphl.com/learn/ask-questions/.

Questions asked over these hot lines will eventually find their way into the Comelec’s FAQs. For now, the hot lines are officially open only from Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Operationally, this means that queries received on weekends, or after 5 p.m., will be attended to on the next working day. As the elections draw nearer, however, hot -line operations will also ramp up.

James Arthur B. Jimenez is director of the Commission on Elections’s education and information department.

Opinion BusinessMirror

opinion@businessmirror.com.ph

Governance should dominate economics

We are the ‘balikbayan’ boxes Tito Genova Valiente

Leonardo A. Lanzona Jr.

EAGLE WATCH

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espite the overwhelming economic problems faced by the country, governance—or the set of processes in running a government—must continue to be the crucial issue in the coming elections. For us, this is disparaging since, for past five years, the government has implemented reforms to improve its operations and eradicate corruption.

The proof of success in this area is the remarkable trend in economic growth. It is difficult to identify the root causes of this growth, considering the inability of the state to address fundamental economic issues, like infrastructure and basic services. Apart from the increases in remittances, the only clear factor seems to the improvement in investor confidence resulting in increases in both domestic and foreign investments, which, in turn, can be attributed to the current administration’s commitment for good government.

However, to sustain this growth, the next administration must focus on enhancing the country’s economic viability. In particular, infrastructure weakness needs to be addressed in order to create the environment for greater productivity and allow benefits to be more effectively shared to the poor.

In this context, why should governance dominate in the present electoral discourse? The answer is simple: Vice President Jejomar C. Binay is relentlessly pursuing the presidency despite facing widespread and largely unrefuted charges of corruption. Binay’s candidacy alone is the single, most crucial governance challenge the country now faces.

Three questions will surface under a Binay government. First, what will happen to the cases of Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla, all of whom are closely associated with the vice president?

Second, what will now be the status of persons perceived to be part of the country’s dark history of corruption? I refer here to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Sen. Bongbong Marcos who have all openly supported Binay’s campaign.

Finally, what will happen to the pending cases of Binay? It is laughable to even assume that a sitting president will expose himself willingly for investigation while in office.

Hence, a Binay presidency may repeat the type of governance that had ruined our economy since the time of martial law. More important, Binay’s strategy of playing the rich versus the poor, even when he was Makati City mayor, only signals the impending return of the patronage system where the poor would be indebted to key persons, their benefactors, instead of being supported by an established socialprotection program.

Building on the set of connections created by his late predecessor Nemesio Yabut, Binay seemingly amassed wealth while giving “freebies” to the poor, both within and outside Makati City. At the same time, he reportedly allowed institutions, which aimed to develop greater transparency and civil-society participation, to falter.

This is in contrast to the late mayor and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo, who led a participative style of management during his term in Naga City, institutionalizing citizens’ participation after pushing for an ordinance that required citizen representation in various city government committees.

The evolution of institutions conceptually begins with an absolute ruler who can confiscate any assets his subjects may own or any future income. However, because social policing and monitoring are costly, the ruler stands to gain by interacting with his subjects. If his subjects can own and accumulate wealth, he can get more income by letting the constituents keep a portion of their

The improvement in investor confidence, resulting in increases in both domestic and foreign investments, can be attributed to the current administration’s commitment to good governance.

To sustain this growth, the next administration must focus on enhancing the country’s economic viability. In particular, infrastructure weakness needs to be addressed in order to create the environment for greater productivity and allow benefits to be more effectively shared with the masses. incremental income and offering them various gifts.

Consequently, the ruler continually faces a trade-off between the higher income he can obtain by relaxing restrictions on constituents and the increasing threat to his security that the relaxed restrictions entail because his subjects have both more freedom of action and resources to overthrow him. Equally the constituents face the dilemma that the ruler, at some point, may withdraw his promises, confiscate the accumulated wealth of his constituents and terminate all forms of gifts. The solution is for the ruler to either structure society in a way that it is both in his and his constituents’ interests to abide by his rules, or to willingly renounce his power by giving over more power to the constituents.

Nations with a diversified culture and greater land area are expected to have rulers relinquishing their hold over power and providing greater rights and responsibilities to their constituents. As the complexity of the environment increases because human beings become increasingly interdependent, more complex institutions are necessary in order for the constituents to capture the potential gains from development. Such an evolution also requires that the society develops institutions that will permit anonymous and impersonal exchanges across time and space.

This leads to inclusive growth as greater participation among the social agents are enhanced, while, at the same time, ensuring that merit (instead of favors) becomes the basis for promotion. In particular, we cannot return to the culture of patronage. The Conditional Cash-Transfer Program was intended to supplant this practice, with an objective and politically detached national agency providing subsidies to the poor.

Voters then should focus on good government and its implications to the economy. To cover-up his weaknesses in governance, Binay would often highlight his performance in Makati City. However, at best, his contribution to the progress of the city is questionable. To smokescreen the corruption charges he is facing, he would also cite unfounded abuses by the Aquino administration, from practicing “selective justice” and using government funds for campaigns to instituting martial law. What is undeniable is a high-ranking public official who is unwilling to take responsibility for the country’s institutional failures and lack of transparency, and who shamelessly sacrifices social interest for personal ambition.

Leonardo Lanzona Jr. is director of the Ateneo Center for Economic Research and Development and a senior fellow of Eagle Watch, the school’s macroeconomic research and forecasting unit

Friday, August 28, 2015 A7

annotations

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Y grandfather was the first sanitary inspector of the entire island of Ticao. Regularly, he would go to the Masbate mainland for a meeting. He would return taking the last boat trip and also the last bus (there was only one bus then plying the length of the island).

All of us would be excited to meet him with his pasalubong of tiny, soft muffins in a brown bag. We knew it was the same kind of muffin because oil blots would mark the paper container. When we moved to the city of Naga, there were more varieties of muffins and other pastries in the new place, but our grandfather, Elpidio Genova, would still bring us pastries and other things from the island. In our young mind, the gift was unnecessary because our lolo could just buy from the many bakeries and pastry shops in the city. But my father had an explanation: The muffins, or any of those special bread we received from him in the simplest of brown bags, had a value greater than the more expensive and fancier cakes he could buy for us. The gift crossed the sea and traveled on land, a trip that in the late 1960s took the whole day.

As a student of anthropology, I would find an engaging explanation from the great French sociologist, Marcel Mauss, who wrote in 1925 a book called The Gift. In that book, Mauss developed the theory that a gift is more than a material offering.

For him, the material and the spiritual are blurred or the line between the two transcended to make the gift magical.

For Mauss, the one who sends or gives the gift gives a part of himself. Certainly my grandfather gave a lot of himself in those many occasions that he took care of the fragile container of the muffins he was assured would make us happy.

If not, perhaps, for the fact that he stayed with us finally, he would have packed the same soft muffins over and over to give to us.

I remember my grandfather now, more than ever, when a great portion of this nation’s population is up in arms against the present obsession of the Bureau of Customs to tax balikbayan boxes, which are gifts. Relatives living abroad are looking at the things they have gathered and are still gathering and feeling a sense of helplessness. The box or boxes in front of them are now objects of anxiety rather than joy. Many are shocked that these boxes are now classified as forms of smuggling.

To the overseas Filipino workers, the Customs is another bureaucracy added to those that are supposed to work for their benefit. Name them: the Department of Labor and Employment, Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, Government Service Insurance System,

Social Security System and the Bureau of Immigration. Now here is Customs newly customized to look at what these workers are sending home. It has come to its attention, if we are to believe its premises, promises and press releases, that the balikbayan boxes are being used to send goods that are for sale. These practices should be put to a stop, a certain Lina who heads this bureau screams.

As with any kind of law or regulation this government enforces, the latest preoccupation is antismall people. This reminds me of what legislators have been complaining all this time that the so-called Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) is engendering dependency, and that poor people remain poor because they are not sweating enough. As if our politicians in both houses of Congress are working.

I am angry. Like many Filipinos who have brothers, sisters, parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins working abroad, I am aware of what goes into those boxes. These are small gifts—shoes of all types, photos of which were sent to a favorite uncle, magazines acquisitioned for a year or years, boxes of chocolate that were bought on sale, are results of saving for months so these special dark and white delicacies could be shared on All Souls’ Day

Apec women and economy Pacita U. Juan

Women Stepping UP

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hese series of meetings are used to be called the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Women Leaders’ Network (Apec WLN). I was lucky to have attended several WLN meetings in Cairns, Australia; Arequipa, Peru; Singapore; Tokyo, Japan; and in 2011, the San Francisco, US, meeting took an interesting turn.

It adopted the name change that started in Japan the previous year to Apec Women and Economy Summit (WES).

The special guest in San Francisco?

No less than the former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. I was in awe as we sat listening to Clinton and Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook fame. On the video was Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund or World Bank. These are the rock stars of the world in business and politics.

At the same San Francisco event, the San Francisco Declaration was adopted by the 21 Apec economies to give women more access to capital; access to markets; capacity and skill-building; and, of course, to give women leadership a second look and have it integrated in the plans of all economies.

MAIL

Please e-mail your letters to the editor to opinion@businessmirror.com.ph.

Letters chosen for publication in this section are edited for brevity and clarity.

You can read more at: http://fpc.state. gov/172626.htm or look up San Francisco Declaration.

Today many economies have adopted policies to give women access to these important factors—market, capital and capacity-building. The Philippines already ranks in the top of having women in senior leadership positions. Check out our Cabinet and our private sector, as well. We also have best practice examples of access to markets (like the Great Women Program of PCW and Cida); access to finance (like the Ilaw Program of Development Bank of the Philippines); and capacity and skills building (Technical

Education and Skills Development Authority and private-sector groups like ECHOsi Foundation).

We, at Women’s Business Council of the Philippines (mostly MAP members, as well), are proud to be the private-sector partner of the Department of Trade and Industry, under Undersecretary Nora K. Terrado. For over two years now, we have been planning the activities for this year’s hosting of Apec Women and Economic Fora. It will finally unfold from September 16 to 18 at the Philippine International Convention Center.

Though it is invitational as with all Apec events, we think it is important to share that private sector has a voice in shaping the policies of not only our economy, but of 21 other economies. In shaping policies for women’s advancement in all industries and finally closing the gender pay gap still present in many economies.

On September 15 Filipina women, led by Filipino-American Irene Natividad, will be opening and striking the opening bell at the Philippine Stock Exchange. This crowd attraction has been Irene’s trademark as we have opened stock exchanges in all the places where the Global Summit of Women (another annual, but private event) has been hosted. I have personally attended the openings in Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur.

It makes for good press and promotion

or death anniversaries or Christmas gatherings. Are some of these goodies for sale? I think some are, but they are afterthoughts of a laborer who is simply proud to show siblings and kin the nice things available abroad. No talk about scrimping or dutifully saving; what are laid on the table or what are revealed after the huge luggage has been opened are gifts of oneself. The distribution of these nice and “expensive” things is a magical moment, filled with laughter, banter and happy talk.

As for the smuggled goods, they are not in balikbayan boxes, but in crates that are not products of savings and having two or three jobs, but of a capital that accumulates and grows because they escape taxation.

I like to join the thousands of people hurling expletives at Lina and the entire Customs bureau. But I want to refer everyone to my former publisher, Teddy Boy Locsin, who has reserved the utmost obscenity and has hurled it with the might of the righteous at Lina. I would like to pray at this point that the ghost of some past would visit all Customs officials and the commissioner and scare their conscience. I wish I could summon the spirit of my dear grandfather so he could share with them his gifts of muffins and honesty.

E-mail: titovaliente@yahoo.com

of women’s role in leadership of various industries and promotes women participation as corporate directors in public companies, as well as in private ones.

Around that week of September 15 to 18, you will see a lot of woman leaders, influencers and celebrities gracing the print pages and the airwaves of broadcast media. And maybe we can take yet another look at the power these women have. The power to change our world to be a better place for women and the next generation. The power to collaborate for finding solutions to global challenges.

The power to influence our kind to stand up and be counted.

That is Apec Women and Economy Fora. And if you wish to witness these events, tune in to TV and radio during these days—September 15 to 18 and be informed. Men, as well as women, of course, will have something to think about to give women the stage to change the world. It is never too late. The Philippine Declaration may yet be another milestone in Apec history.

This article reflects the author’s opinion and is not the official stand of the BPW Makati. Women Stepping Up is a rotating column of members of BPW Makati and comes out twice a month. For more information on BPW Makati, visit www. womensteppingup.org.

PhilHealth denies spending for TV ads This is in reaction to the article entitled “Labor leader assails PhilHealth TV ads for losing administration bet” which came out in your publication on August 20, 2015.

We wish to categorically state that Philippine Health Insurance Corp. did not spend a single centavo for the production and airing of the

new TV commercial featuring Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, a member of our board of directors.

The television commercial was produced and its airing bankrolled by her friends who share her advocacy for quality health care.

The storyboard, however, was cleared with this office to ensure

accuracy and consistency with our marketing and communication strategies. ‘ (Sgd.) Israel Francis A. Pargas, M.D. QIC-Vice President for Corporate Affairs Group PhilHealth

2nd Front Page BusinessMirror

A8 Friday, August 28, 2015

Near-zero inflation seen in Aug, but rates to stay

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By Bianca Cuaresma

nflation was seen on Thursday to have moved lower in August and approach still closer to zero percent, according to the governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

But BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. indicated that an interest-rate cut was out of the question as the rate of change in prices was projected to range from 0.2 percent to 1 percent in August.

The forecast, Tetangco said, was based on sustained downward adjustments in electricity rates and falling oil prices. He quickly added that so-called base effects should also be at play.

In a statement, Tetangco reiterated there “may be no need” to adjust the monetary-policy settings, no matter that inflation has fallen consistently below the target the

Tetangco reiterated there “may be no need” to adjust the monetary-policy settings, no matter that inflation has fallen consistently below the target the past three months.

past three months.

“For next year, however, we see inflation moving up to within target. Given the rebound in the second-quarter GDP [gross domestic

product] from the first quarter and the lags of monetary policy, there may be no need as yet to adjust policy,” Tetangco said.

What could change this stance?

Tetangco said developments in oil prices, manifestations of the El Niño weather disturbance and financial-market volatilities are keenly watched “as part of the surveillance to see if there is a need to adjust the stance of policy.

In July inflation hit a record low of 0.8 percent, from 1.2 percent in June. Inflation had been moving progressively lower since April.

Inthefirstsevenmonths,inflation averaged 1.9 percent, a tad lower than the target for the year of 2 percent to 4 percent.

Should inflation in August hit the forecast low of 0.2 percent, the average rate in the first eight months was seen at 1.7 percent.

Should inflation in August average higher at 1 percent—or the ceiling of the governor’s forecast for the month—average inflation from January to August was seen at 1.8 percent. At the last rate-setting meeting of the Monetary Board, the BSP said inflation was seen averaging 1.8 percent for 2015, or lower than the target.

www.businessmirror.com.ph

Govt seized 250 tons of smuggled pork, beef in January-June–DA. . .

Continued from A1

initiatives. He said the DA is continuously coordinating with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to prevent the smuggling of meat products.

“We are exchanging notes with the BoC. The BOC also gives us access to inward foreign manifest, while we give them tips on importers with questionable business practices,” he said.

Reaño said the government’s antismuggling drive and the implementation of stringent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, such as banning expired meat products, have encouraged hog raisers and poultry growers to increase their output.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the livestock subsector expanded by 5.2

percent in the second quarter. In the first semester, livestock output rose by 4.25 percent.

“At current prices the subsector’s gross receipts amounted to P62.2 billion. This represented a 1.59-percent increment from last year’s record,” the PSA said.

The poultry subsector, meanwhile, grew by 4.71 percent in the April-to-June period. Chicken boosted the subsector’s performance in the second quarter, posting a 5.08-percent increase in output. In the first half of the year, the gross output of the subsector went up by 5.03 percent.

“For the whole of 2015, the poultry subsector’s output could grow by

9 percent, while the livestock sector’s production could increase by 4.5 percent,” Reaño said.

Earlier, the United Broiler Raisers Association (Ubra) projected that the Philippines would produce 1 billion broilers this year.

Ubra Chairman Gregorio A. San Diego Jr. said the projected broiler production this year is 11 percent higher than the estimated 900 million birds produced by the local poultry industry in 2014.

Meanwhile, Reaño said the DA is currently bent on expanding the production of native hogs and chicken, as the government sets its sights on increasing its shipments of meat products to other countries.

Sy is still PHL’s richest man. . . conglomerate, which owns SM’s rival mall chain Robinsons, is the second richest with a net worth of $5.5 billion.

Forbes said he moved up three spots after his company’s stocks rose 30 percent, boosted by revenue growth in its petrochemical business and investments in Meralco, the Philippines largest power distributor. JG Summit also has interests in food and beverage, airlines, telecoms, property development, banking, retail and hotels.

Forbes compiles the net wealth of the Philippines’s richest based on stock prices and exchange rates, with the value of private companies based on similar companies that are publicly traded.

Alliance Global’s Andrew L. Tan climbed a notch to

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third place despite a drop in his net worth to $4.5 billion from the previous $5.1 billion. His company’s stock price is 11 percent lower due to a drop in income from its resort and casino operations.

Lucio Tan of LT Group, whose businesses include stakes in beverages, tobacco, distilled spirits, banking and property, was fourth with a net worth of $4.3 billion.

Tan is also the chairman of Philippine Airlines.Fifth was International Container Terminal Services Inc.’s Enrique Razon Jr., who is worth $4.1 billion.

Rounding out the top 10 are George Ty, the Abotiz Family, Jaime Zobel de Ayala, David Consunji and Tony Tan Caktiong. AP